Twins notch District II victory vs. 49ers

American Legion Post 20 Twins pitcher Bud Baun got away with a walk on the wild side Wednesday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.

Baun walked six and hit one batter, but still threw all nine innings in a 5-3 Post 20 victory over the Tri-Cities 49ers.

"When I get two outs, sometimes I'll walk a few guys and it gets to my head," said Baun, who is now 7-2. "I like it that way. It makes it a game."

Twins manager Lance Coz doesn't like it that way. He once kept track of how many walks eventually score, and it was somewhere around 75 percent. This year, despite only one of Baun's six walks scoring Wednesday, Coz said the percentage is probably higher than 75.

"Our goal for our pitching staff is for minimal walks," Coz said after his team improved to 24-21 overall. "That keeps the whole ballclub involved."

Coz also said walks don't allow the Twins to take advantage of their strongest attribute -- defense. Wednesday, the Twins committed just one error. That came on a sinking line drive to center fielder David Newby, and it would have been a nice play if Newby would have come up with the catch.

"I think our defense is one of the best in the state," Baun said. "With the Newby twins (shortstop Eric and David) and (Kyle) Foster playing three bag, I'm not afraid to throw strikes."

In addition to the six walks and the hit batsman, Baun also gave up nine hits. But he was able to strand 12 runners.

For Post 20, that was a nice change. The Twins went 1-3 in a homestand against Dimond and Service over the weekend, and part of the culprit was missed opportunities.

Wednesday, the Twins left just six runners on base. David Newby was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Kyle Foster was 2-for-4 with one run and Eric Newby was 1-for-3 with two runs.

"Last weekend against Service and Dimond, we left too many runners in scoring position," Coz said. "We had the right people at the plate, but they were hitting it hard right at people.

"Sometimes, you just go through stretches like that."

The Wednesday victory also could turn out to be a key District II victory for the Twins. The win improved Post 20's record in District II to 8-3 overall. Meanwhile, Tri-Cities dropped to 6-3.

Tri-Cities and the Twins are battling for the No. 1 seed in the District II tournament, which starts Saturday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park.

Tri-Cities must play a doubleheader against Homer today. If Tri-Cities sweeps Homer, there will be a tie for first place.

Since Wednesday's contest with Tri-Cities was supposed to be a doubleheader, Post 20 and Tri-Cities technically still need to play each other again.

That game may take place if Tri-Cities sweeps Homer today, but Coz was not sure of that because that would mean a lot of games in a short period of time for Tri-Cities. If Tri-Cities does not sweep Homer, the Post 20 will not play Tri-Cities again in the regular season.